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We recommend rinsing pasta only if you're preparing it for a cold salad; rinsing in cold water will help to cool it quickly. For all other uses, we do not recommend rinsing since it reduces the serving temperature of the pasta and sauce may not cling as well because residual starch is rinsed away. However, if you are accustomed to rinsing pasta, please do whatever you prefer or feel comfortable with.
A 1 lb. (16 oz.) box of pasta serves 8 people, on average. This can vary depending on whether you are cooking for hearty or "light" eaters. Look on the package cooking directions; the first line in the directions tells you how many cups of cooked product will be made from cooking the whole package. A 1 lb. box of spaghetti, for example, cooks to 10 cups. On average, pasta doubles in size when cooked but this varies by shape.
You can, however best quality comes from cooking pasta right before it's served. To cook ahead, prepare as directed on package, tossing with vegetable oil. Store, tightly sealed in plastic bags 3 to 4 days. When ready to serve, boil water; remove pasta from plastic bag. Immerse pasta in boiling water 1 minute or until heated through. Drain in colander and serve.
Combination dishes with red sauce (like lasagne) freeze best. Cooked pasta without sauce does not freeze particularly well.
Either way is fine. But keep in mind that if pasta is cooked with broth, a cloudier (not clear) broth will result. For hearty soups, this is usually not important. If cooking pasta in broth, be sure to start with an extra amount of broth since pasta will absorb roughly 25% of the liquid.
We do not recommend boiling this product, since it is precooked. Oven Ready was designed to rehydrate in typical lasagne recipes. Boiling can result in starchy broken pieces that are difficult to separate. |